Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Most Important Meal of the Day...

I recently gave a speech on the reasons we should all eat a big, healthy breakfast every morning.

Do you eat a meal within the first two hours of your day?

Based on my acquired knowledge from my (many, many) health classes & the research I did to prepare for my speech, here's why you should! ﻿

Did you know that while we sleep, our bodies go into hibernation mode & our metabolism shuts down?

When you wake up in the morning, you need to wake up your metabolism as well! This can be done by eating a healthy breakfast within the first two hours that you're awake. If you don't eat within that time frame, your body will go into starvation mode. Then, when you finally get around to eating (say, around lunch time), your body is going to store all of the fat from that meal (remember, your body thinks it's starving). However, if you were to eat breakfast, your body's metabolism is running & is ready to burn fat after a meal -not store it! ﻿

People that eat breakfast have higher attention spans, higher concentration levels, & overall ...more brain power! This is why your Mom always said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

Breakfast eaters also tend to have higher strength and endurance levels.

Based on research, if you eat breakfast that is high in nutrients, you'll consume fewer calories all throughout the day because you won't feel as hungry as your day moves along!

Your breakfast shouldn't be a bowl full of sugary cereal (or leftover pizza, as I am shamefully admitting to eating for breakfast from time to time!).

Eat something high in lean protein, because it will keep you satisfied ﻿until lunch (hopefully!). Also, a little side note -don't be afraid to eat a small, healthy snack in between breakfast and lunch. It will keep your metabolism moving & in fat-burning mode! Also, by eating a snack, you'll be less likely to over-eat at lunch time.

In the speech I gave on this topic, I referenced a study by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center that compared the weight loss in overweight women who ate two eggs vs. a bagel for breakfast each morning for eight weeks. The eggs & the bagel were identical in calories and volume.

After the end of the study, it was found that the women who ate the eggs as part of a low-fat diet
lost 65% more weight, had a reduced waist circumference by 83%, and they reported higher energy levels.

One of my favorite breakfasts is Overnight Oats because it's easy & cold. I'm not a big fan of hot things in the morning!

Another tip I can give you is to drink a LOT of water. It will help keep your hunger at bay throughout the day. I always drink a cup of water FIRST THING when I wake up each morning. Your body gets dehydrated throughout the night, so I feel it's important to rehydrate before you do anything else.

I actually grew up not eating breakfast at all in HS...hated it really..it's funny that over time i actually started to have to eat something in the AM bec I would get shaky before lunch...this only started in my mid twenties. Scrambled eggs are my fave for breakfast!

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